Each chapter of this clinician's guidebook addresses a topic related to preventive mental health interventions with children. The first section discusses preventive services in terms of need, types, four approaches, and rationale. The second section reviews ways to effectively collaborate with the school system and provides discussion to help the clinician understand the school from participants' perspectives. The third section deals with preventive guidance that should and can be administered by a classroom teacher, specifically discussing teacher skills beneficial in developing classroom guidance, suggestions and resources for building needed skills, and guidance programs with which the clinician should be familiar and which the teacher may employ. The fourth section considers the use of the mental health professional in an educational role and discusses ways clinicians can maximize their existing skills and build their teaching skills. The fifth section deals with the practice of mental health consultation, reviewing its preventive nature and discussing types and stages of consultation. Ethical considerations are also briefly addressed. The sixth section deals with community intervention in the preschool population. Reasons for the neglect of the preschool/day care population in mental health promotion work, as well as methods for overcoming such barriers, are presented. The final section deals with specific problems confronting the prevention field, particularly funding and evaluation. Methods of approaching both these problems are outlined, and the importance of expanding the scope of prevention is emphasized. An extensive reference list concludes the document. (RH)